The General Assembly's Public Health Committee has scheduled a public hearing for Tuesday

HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut lawmakers will hear public feedback on the first of several bills filed this session that would legalize the sale of recreational marijuana.

The General Assembly’s Public Health Committee has scheduled a hearing for Tuesday on legislation that would require the Department of Consumer Protection to create and administer a program that allows people 21 years and older to legally purchase and cultivate marijuana.

The bill also requires the Department of Revenue Services to create and administer a system for taxing the drug.

Republican Rep. Melissa Ziobron of East Haddam is co-sponsoring the bill. The ranking Republican House member on the Appropriations Committee, Ziobron says she wants to “promote a healthy and substantive discussion” of the issue.

Similar legalization bills proposed by mostly Democrats are awaiting action in other committees.